Zhang Chunhua, a farmer who has suffered from gastritis for several years, was excited about the newly-established Community Learning Center in his hometown of Heyuan, a small remote village in the highland area of China's southwest Guizhou Province.

It was indeed good news for his stomach pains since the center would provide villagers with free health examinations and occasional free medicine.

The center is a joint charity project set up by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (ACCC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to help improve health in impoverished ethnic groups in China.

It aims to reduce the number of complaints for which sick villagers don't seek medical treatment because they either cannot or are not prepared to pay the necessary money.

Like many other villagers, Zhang has to travel far from his home and climb up and down mountains for his work on the highly fragmented farmland.

Zhang used to leave home in the early morning, sometimes carrying basic food to see him through the day and sometimes not, and return for supper in the late evening. As time passed, he began suffering from stomach pains.

Once he fainted and lay comatose on the ground where he fell for several hours. However, the financial cost of seeking treatment was a deterrent and he only permitted himself some medicine from the village health clinic.

He didn't want to undergo a thorough health check at a large hospital because it involved a lot of travel and he preferred to spend the money on his children's health and education.

Apart from providing health services, the community center also helped enhance health awareness among villagers.

Zhang's wife has become a frequent visitor to the center, where she undertakes training in health matters.

"I'm happy to attend this sort of training so that I can go back home and share the knowledge with my family and push them to change any bad living habits. I have become a family doctor!" she said.

In addition to the center in Heyuan village, following a survey and needs assessment by UNESCO and the China Family Planning Association, ACCC set up two community learning centers in Guizhou Province and another at a village in Yunnan Province.

It is funding this project with donations from its annual charity ball for three years, with a total budget of 2.1 million yuan. The first year's 700,000 yuan contribution was released to UNESCO, which administers the centers, at the end of 2008.

This project provides a range of public health services. Among them, the China Family Planning Association helps the Naxi, Miao, Dong and other ethnic groups living in poor villages to improve the health of their environment.

Besides addressing issues relating to health and sanitation, the centers have become public locations at which villagers can learn useful skills such as operating computers.

The project is expected to provide not only material support, but also knowledge and skills. As the proverb goes, "It's better to teach people to fish rather than to give them the fish directly."

"Materialism only provides immediate comfort; knowledge is the thing that can be of great benefit for our entire lives," said Wang Yunshu, a villager of Jizi village, which has been a beneficiary of the project since 2009.

(China Daily September 20, 2010)